National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said Friday Vietnam’s sovereignty over its seas and islands are being seriously threatened by China’s illegal construction in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands.

He made the statement in his closing speech to wrap up the parliament’s ninth session that lasted more than a month.

“The National Assembly orders the government, all ministries and agencies and the whole political system to join hands to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty,” he said.

In a press conference held Friday afternoon to announce the outcome of the house session, Nguyen Hanh Phuc, chief of the National Assembly Office, said the issue of the East Sea -- the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea -- is “complicated” and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) had reported on the developments there to the full house in a closed session on June 5.

“China’s illegal construction in the East Sea will not change Vietnam’s sovereignty over the islands in the East Sea since Vietnam has sufficient evidence to affirm its sovereignty, the foreign ministry stated.”

The house would keep a close watch on East Sea developments and could issue a resolution on them if necessary, he added.

On Thursday Le Hai Binh, the foreign minsitry spokesperson, said at a press briefing that China’s large-scale construction on some islands and reefs in Truong Sa is illegal and cannot change the fact that Vietnam has sufficient legal foundation and historical evidence proving its sovereignty over this chain of islands.

Vietnam demands that China immediately halt these activities, respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos, comply fully with international law – especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea Sea – and not take any action to complicate the situation and the status quo in the waters, he said.